Indicator for musical instruction



E. FENN'ELL. INDICATOR FOR MUSICAL INSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE23, 1920.

Patented Dec. 20, 1921.

al-Bu llmm INVENTOR ATTORNEY ments to be correlated and which indicates 2 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELEANQ'R'FENNELL, on NEW YOBKTNLY.

INDICATOR FOR MUSICAL INSTRUCTION.

andis herein shown as embodied in apparatus which is particularly intended for the use of children who are beginningithe study of music. It will be understood, however,

that the 'invention' 'is not restricted to the embodiment or uses herein specifically shown and described, and, that many features of the invention are of general utility in apparatus for use in self-instruction.

A general object of the invention is to pro-- vide apparatus :for the purposes above set forth, which willpresent the subject or art to be studied in such a manner that correlation is requiredas,' for example, of the notes on a musical stafi' with the keys ofthe instrument keyboardtogether with means which requires the student to select the ele:

when the correct correlation of elements has been obtained by the giving of a suitable signal. More particularly the invention aims to interestlchildren in the study of musical notation,by providing apparatus inwhich the relationship of the notes upon a musical stafi to the keys of an instrument keyboard will be audibly indicated when'the child has formed the proper connection on the one hand with the note on the staff and on the versa.

I Other objects and important features of the invention willappear from the following description and claimswhen considered in connection with ings, in which? 7 Figure 1 is a plan view of apparatus embodying the presentinvention;

the accompanying draw- Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec 20, 1921. Applicatio i filed June 23, 1920. Serial No.,391,o14.

F ig.h2 is a sectional detail showing the wiring which connects one of the notes with one of the keys;

Fig. 3 is a combined perspective and sectional detail illustrating one form of contact which may conveniently be used with the notes on the musical staff Fig. & is a sectional detail of one: form of movable contact member or selecting device; and V Fig. 5 is a sectional detail showing a modified form of movable contact member and one of its associated stationary contacts. One of the practical objectsof the present invention is to provideapparatus for self-instruction in music which can be 'manufactured a t-a relatively smallcost so that it i may go intogeneral use, and to this end the illustrated embodiment of the invention is 7 shownas comprising a board 2, having upon one face-either upon the board itself or upon a cardboard cover 4musical stafis 6 on which are musical notes 8the illustrated' apparatusshowing two staffs, the one at the left being for the bass, and the one at theright being for the treble, with the notes corresponding tooeach.

- The illustrated board has also depicted thereon a musical instrument keyboard 10, the illustrated keyboard being that of a pianoor organ. For convenience,.the illustrated keynotecomprises only slightly more than the number-of octaves required to show the relationship of the notes on the musica staffs to the keys of the keyboard. 7

. Each of the notes 8 of the musical staff is provided, preferably within its outline, with a contact member 12 which may be formed in any suitable manner, the illustrated member being in the form of a small circular head of a rivet, theshank 14 of which passesthrough the boardinto a recess 15 on the under side of the board and has attached to it withinthis recess'one end of a wire 16'connected to another rivet 18, the head 20 of which forms an exposed contact on the keyboard key corresponding to the note on the scale with which thecontact 12 is asso iated. The wires 16 may be connected to their associated rivets andat the same time the rivets may besecured in their position on the board by washers 22, between which and the under side of the board the wires are confined, the rivets being headed ,up as shown at 24 to hold the washers in whole underside of thefboajrd 7 Each of the notes 8 upon the musical stafis I has a wire 16 connecting its contact 12 with a contact on the correspond ng key of the keyboard, and the bridges thus formed are utilized to, complete a" circuit through electrical si nalin means which ma be either e g .Z audlble or visible, the'illustrated means being shown as constituted by abuzzer 28,

which, maybe located upon the upper face of the board 2.' The buzzer 22 has one of its terminals connected by wire 30, preterably in a recess, not shown, on the under sideof the board 2, with one poleoi a battery 32 which maybe an ordinary ,dry cell battery carried upon the upper face or" the board 2, and has its other terminal connected by a wire34 with a note selecting contact 'member comprising .an. insulating handle v v '-Sl3ILlCtlOl'l, a chart havlng thereon armus c'al 36 and a contactpoint 38, the contact surface exposed at thepoint 88 being prefervably relatively-small so that not more than one of the contacts 12 canbe engaged'by it ,at one time. 1 The other pole of thebattery 32 isconnected by wire tO'with another see lectin g. device like the one first. described and comprlsmg an insulating handle 36 and i a contact point 38. For convenience-the in-.

sulating cable 42, which permits the notese lecting; contact point 38. to be moved into contact with; the contactmember, 12 on any ofthe notes on either'of the staffs, may come out of the board about midway ofits length near the upper edge thereof, as shown, and

,likewisethe cable 42 for the other contact point may come out of the boardabout mid- Way of itslength near its lower edge.

From theforegoing .desfiription, the operationof the device willreadily be understood. The operator will preferably take one of the handles 36 of the movable select ing devices in one hand and the other in the other hand, =and'will either first move the note selector to bring its. point 38 into iconthe notes upon the staff, the keycorrespondof the key, the note corresponding to which it is desired toalocate', and will then move .the other selector until either the key or thenotefhas been. reached which corresponds with the note or key first selected, whereupon the completionofthe circuit thus afiectedfwill cause the buzzer 28to sound a signal indicating that the correct answerto the probleln has been obtained. By providmg self-instruction.means-operating thus.

somewhat afterthe manner of a gamepr tact with the contact member 12 of-oneot buzzer by simply bringing the'points '88 together. To. avoid. such an operation of the buzzer the selectors ma r be made in the 5 manner shown in F1g. 5, with the contact 4:1

set back within a recess within the. insulated {handle 46, in whichcase the cooperating contact members upon thekeys. and notes would havelto progect above the surface 'o'f the cardboardfc to such an extentthat' each would reach into the recess in the handle 16 suiiiciently iarto come lnto contact with the-member 414:, 1A contact member having r a storm suitableioruse with the modified selector shown in Fig. 5 is also shown in this figureat a8. V 'VVhat I claim as new is: V v

1. In apparatus for use inrmusi'cal instafi' with notes on said staff, means representmg'the keyboard of a musical lnstrument with respect to zwhich lnstruction is to be given, a signah-sigjnal operating means comprising means connecting the 'notes on said staff with the keys on said keyboard,

and independent means for connecting each with the signaling means and requiring 1ndependent selection of a note correspond mg to the selected key, or vlce versa to pro respect towhich instruction is to be given, a

movable note selectingi'member, vsignaling means -and meanscompr1s1ng a connectlQllbGtWQBl'l the signaling meansgand the note selecting member anda key -diiferentiating connection to-Jthe signaling means sponding" to a selected; key of thefikeyboard. 3. In apparatus for use in musical in struction, [a chart having thereon a 'musical stafl with notes on said staff and havingalso depicted thereon a'musical, keyboard, signalingmeans, a movable note-engag1ng"member',-fa movable 'keyrengaging mem-benafnd connections between said signalinglmeans and saidmembers andibetween said notes and said keys, whereby a signal is; given.

.whe'nsaid note-engaging member ison. the

note'corresponding to 'theukey which said key-engaging member engages. I

4c. In.;apparatus for use in musical instruction, a chart having thereon a musical staff and notes .011 said stafi and also having depicted thereon a musical keyboard, move whereby a signal isdgiveii when said note selectmg member as placed on a notecorreable note-selecting means adapted to be moved by the operator into position on one of the notes on said-staff, movable keyselecting means adapted to be moved by the operator into position on one of the keys of said keyboard, a signaling device and connections between said device and said note and key selecting means and between said notes and said keys, whereby a signal is given when the note selecting means is upon a note corresponding to the key upon tive keys and the corresponding notes, each connection being provided with a contact at its note end and also at its key end.

6.' Apparatus for use in musical instruction comprising a chart having thereon a musical staff and also having thereon a musical keyboard, notes upon said staff, a note selector adapted to engage the notes upon said staff, a key selector adapted to engage the keys of the keyboard, signaling means and connections between said note and key selectors and between said signaling means and the notes and the corresponding keys whereby said'signaling means is operated whenever either selector is moved to contact with a note or key corresponding to theikey or note upon which the other selectoris located.

Signed at New York city, N. Y., this 21st day of June, 1920.

vELEANOR FENNELL.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,400,947, granted December 20, 1921, upon the application of Eleanor Fennell, of New York, N. Y. for an improvement in Indicators for Musical Instruction, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 3, lines 33 and 34, strike out the words said signaling means and and insert the same to follow the word between in line 32; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 17th day of January, A. D., 1922.

[SEAL] KARL FENNING,

Acting Commissioner of Patents.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,400,947, granted December 20,

1921, upon the application of Eleanor Fennell, of New York, N. Y., for an improvement in Indicators for Musical Instruction, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 3, lines 33 and 34, strike out the words said signaling means and and insert the same to follow the word between in line 32; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 17th day of January, A. D., 1922.

[sEALJ KARL FENNiNG,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

